Whitworth rifle trial ground in rural Tennessee

[TFoley]

I found this very interesting information on a well-known and highly-respected Youtube channel - Thank you, Mr Stephen Brown -



Stephen Brown1 year ago
The Confederate proving ground for the Whitworth rifle was the community of Fairfield, Bedford County, Tennessee prior to the Tullahoma Campaign. A.P. Stewart oversaw the exercises where the best marksmen from the Army of Tennessee were tested and chosen to man the rifled/muskets. From tradition and, oral interviews from descendants of the community and the local SCV in 1979, two weeks of site survey were conducted and, site(s) examined. One known site of the targets was recorded, and a sample sounding of 1 meter square resulted in 20+ fired hexagonal rounds. The distance shot is not known precisely but, estimates vary from 400 yards to 750. The natural contours of the topography lend to many places of POA. Interestingly enough, rounds from 30-06 caliber were also discovered that hailed from the Tennessee Maneuvers and, both period, Civil War and Maneuver camp sites are overlapping... The "backstop" is just a natural site and conclusion to controlled firearms testing and safety.
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It is a comment to this extraordinary shooting of a replica Whitworth rifle -

 

[ResearchPress]

It’s a pity the introductory text about factory closures and Parker-Hale manufacture is wrong. More info. adding to the P-H myth and misconception. They used a modern manufacturing plant. Their Whitworth is a generic military match rifle with a hex. bore.

David

 

[TFoley]

Isn't it time that the Parker-Hale 'myth and misconception' were finally sorted out? Almost every time the subject is brought up by a well-meaning poster often me, I admit], there is something that is incorrect, or totally erroneous, or 'it never happened like that'.

Lots of people, including me, are lucky enough to have found an example or two, maybe even more, of the original manufactured series, but many more remain confungled about what is and what is not, IS a genuine P-H product and what came after them.

All of mine are low-numbered and personally bought directly from the factory, so I know that mine are the real deal.....but when you see an example sold recently on gunbroker, with Parker-Hale stamps AND Pedersoli stamps, 'made in Italy' with Gardone proof marks and a Pedersoli serial number, AND a proof date of 2015, at least a year BEFORE Pedersoli announced the introduction of their version in October 2016, it really makes one wonder.

 

[Davey Boy]

I would like to see the barrel bore and what a bullet looks like. Thank you for the very informative post.

 

[TFoley]

Here's a bunch of bullets shot from a Whitworth rifle and a paper-patched Metford-style bullet, too.....

#1 - Polisar/Corbin 600gr flat-based swaged bullet.
#2 - As dug out of the backstop at 500 yards.
#3 - As cast using the Dyson three-piece replica mould [see below].
#4 - As dug out of the backstop at 500 yards.
#5 - Hard-cast paper-patched 560gr bullet for Metford shallow-groove rifling.
#6 - Lyman 535gr multi-groove cylindrical-conoidal bullet recovered for the same backstop as the others - note how it has become hexagonal from the kick up the butt from 90gr load of 3Fg.

This is the three-piece Dyson bullet mould sold by DGW.

The original must have been a section of Whitworth barrel with an attached section making the nose - probably the most economical way of making such a mould. The original bullets were hydraulically swaged by Whitworth's factory in Manchester. I saw an unopened package of ten ready to use cartridges at a militaria show many years ago priced at what was then way north of $500.

 

[flintsteel]

My Parker Hale Whitworth I owned 25 years ago shot very well with a round conical made by Ron Long of Denver. Weighed 492 grains and I cast it pure lead, no paper patch And no sizing. Obturation from 100 grains of 3f was complete. That gun is long gone but I do still have a Parker Hale .451 Volunteer with Henry rifling that has accounted for a lot of deer and elk at longer ranges. Same load and slug. I call it my “murder weapon” using it only when the weather is so inclement that my flintlocks are dubious. One elk shot I well remember was a bull at 175 yards in a fast trot away. Slug entered just in front of left hindquarter and drove all the way up through the body, lodging in the neck on the off side. Bull was dead before he hit the ground.

 

[Stantheman86]

My newest and now 4th Parker-Hale is this 3-Bander that it appears someone dropped into an Italian Whitworth stock.

The barrel and lock are made in Birmingham.

The last owner of my .451 Volunteer rifle really did a job on the rear sight so I removed it (it's waiting to have a Malcolm scope put on it) and I used the windage adjustable sight leaf on this .577. I figured I'd go with the theme of the Whitworth stock and make it a "Target" rifle. I'm going to remove the slider so the leaf sits flush with the sight base. The retaining nut hits the sight spring and gives the rear leaf "play " and it makes it sit higher. Honestly I will never be lobbing rounds out to 500+ yards using the rear sight ladder. So it seems a correct modification.

It appears to be highly accurate from my first outing with it, I'll have to try the various Minies and see if it likes .575, .577, etc.

I don't know the number offhand, I can post it later. It's in the 1000 range if I recall.

I enjoy all 4 of my P-H's and I am interested in the "real" story behind them. I have learned a lot here on the forum as to the Euroarms/ Pedersoli continuation of the line and the relative rarity of the Birmingham made weapons.


Since I was probably a teenager and was just really getting into "old guns" the legend of the Parker-Hale muskets was around in gun magazines etc. to almost lead you to think they pulled a few tarps off machinery from the 1850s and just began to "Make Enfields again " . There has been and always will be confusion.

 

[TFoley]

'they pulled a few tarps off machinery from the 1850s and just began to "Make Enfields again " '

Uh, no.

 

[Stantheman86]

This is 100% what many people think although probably 5% of the "Shooting World" even knows what a Parker-Hale Enfield Rifle-Musket is.

Almost every time these come up in some dusty gun shop , some guy will tell you "they made those on the old original machinery" because they remember them from the 1970s and all the gun rag write ups.

I just recently brought my Parker-Hale Musketoon to a Turkey Shoot and a man in his 60's or so , after asking if it was a Pedersoli and I'm like no it's a Parker-Hale "oh yeah one of them they made on the antique machinery with the old gauges or whatever, I had one about 30 years ago " I'm like yeah kinda I guess. That idea will be around as long as the guns are.

Just like how , up until recently, the "Zouave" rifle was most shooters' picture of a "Civil War Musket" because they were so cheap and common as both surplused originals and subsequent Zoli repros for decades, but the Remington "Zouave" saw limited if any issue in the Civil War. Still, guys will swear to you that their great grandpap carried a Zouave in the war because they found it in the basement, nevermind that they were $2 from Bannermans in the 1900s and it's probably one of those.

The Mandela effect is strong in the shooting world, especially with old firearms .